Australia and climate change
Australia, a federal parliamentary state and one of the largest countries by land area, faces significant challenges related to climate change. As a member of the Kyoto Protocol, Australia committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5 percent from 1990 levels during the 2008-2012 period. However, it has one of the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions among OECD countries, attributed to its reliance on fossil fuels and energy-intensive industries. The country ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016, aiming to cut emissions by 43 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, while also grappling with pressures related to biodiversity and Indigenous rights in environmental policies.
Australia's geographical isolation and low population density further complicate its environmental strategies, necessitating a balance between economic growth and sustainable practices. The country's historical context, including its colonial legacy and the treatment of Indigenous populations, plays a role in shaping its contemporary climate policies. Given these dynamics, Australia's approach to climate change reflects both its industrial responsibilities and the complexities of social justice and environmental stewardship. For those interested in understanding the intersection of climate change, policy, and Indigenous rights within a developed nation, Australia serves as a compelling case study.
Australia and climate change
Historical and Political Context
Australia is a federal parliamentary state. The British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is the chief of state, although constitutional links with Britain were ended in 1968. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull became the head of state in 2015. Australia achieved federation status in 1901. Despite the nature of its geography, bound by water in all directions, Australia has eschewed isolationism and fought alongside the British in World Wars I and II and with the United States in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. During the 1960s, the country sought to deal more fairly with its Indigenous population of aborigines.
Impact of Australian Policies on Climate Change
Australia ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2007. Industrialized, Annex I parties to the Kyoto Protocol such as Australia are committed to cut their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by an average of 5 percent from their 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. A heavier burden is placed on industrialized countries than on developing nations, because the former are better able to pay the cost of emission cuts than are the latter.
In 2008, Australia participated in negotiations on reducing deforestation at the fourteenth Conference of the Parties (COP-14) in Poznan, Poland. (COP is the highest body of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and consists of environment ministers who meet once a year to discuss the convention’s developments.) Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States opposed provisions designed to protect the rights of indigenous peoples. As a result, major changes to the draft agreement on deforestation were required prior to the 2009 conference (COP-15) in Copenhagen, Denmark. The goal of the required changes was to preserve the rights of Indigenous and local peoples and communities, promote biodiversity, and address the causes of deforestation in a manner acceptable to the objecting parties.
Australia ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016, which superceded the Kyoto Protocol. Among the Paris Agreement's goals were to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and limit temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Australia committed to reducing its emissions to 43 degrees below 2005 levels by 2030.
Australia as a GHG Emitter
To reduce such emissions, the Kyoto Protocol established carbon quotas for member countries, which may develop new carbon sinks, such as reservoirs of foliage or forests, in order to offset their carbon emissions. These sinks are known as “Kyoto lands.” The use of carbon sinks to mitigate the global warming effects of emissions may be useful to countries with large areas of forest or other vegetation that are otherwise struggling to comply with the protocol. Specific legally binding quotas for reduction of GHG emissions have were established for the developed, Annex I nations, including Australia. Developing, non-Annex I countries, such as Brazil and Indonesia, were not compelled to restrict their GHG emissions. In such countries, emissions may come in large part from the cultivation of lands and the destruction of forests. However, for developed nations such as Australia, land use would have little effect in meeting Kyoto quotas, since most Australian land has already been cultivated.
According to Statista in 2023, Australia had the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions of all Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries. Australia produced 22 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Australia was followed by Canada and the United States.
Australia’s high per-capita emissions are due in part to the nation’s large area and low population density (about 3.38 persons per square kilometer in 2022), as well as its dependence on energy-intensive fossil fuel to transport people and goods over large distances, its use of coal to generate power, and the energy it needs to expend on resource extraction generally.
Key Facts
- Population: 26,768,598 (2024 estimate)
- Area: 7,692,208 square kilometers
- Gross domestic product (GDP): $1.1584 trillion (purchasing power parity, 2023 estimate)
- Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e): 22 in 2023
- Kyoto Protocol status: Ratified 2007
- Paris Agreement: Ratified 2016
Bibliography
"Australia." The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency, 12 Dec. 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/australia/. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
Christoff, Larry. Four Degrees of Global Warming: Australia in a Hot World. Taylor & Francis, 2013.
Lohmann, Larry, ed. Carbon Trading: A Critical Conversation on Climate Change, Privatization, and Power. Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, 2006.
Lowe, Ian. Living in the Hothouse: How Global Warming Affects Australia. Scribe, 2005.
Macintyre, Stuart. A Concise History of Australia. 4th ed. Cambridge UP, 2015.